@visual_press: Why are the Heat playing so mediocre? Shouldn’t they be over this by now after a season together?

Anthony Chiang: That’s the wrong way of thinking about it. The offseason talk about this Heat team just picking up right where it left off after its 30-11 finish was just unfair. This is a different team. Yes, 11 players return from last year’s season-ending roster. But the addition of Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo, and the injury to Rodney McGruder gives Miami a different look. More importantly, it alters the Heat’s rotation. Coach Erik Spoelstra has already worked through six different starting lineups, and his bench rotation is constantly changing. This isn’t an excuse for Miami’s mediocre play to start the season, but it’s part of the explanation. Throw in the fact that the Heat are ranked 25th in the NBA with 16.6 turnovers per game and 24th in offensive efficiency, and it’s clear why they are struggling. But it’s not like Miami is getting blown out. The Heat usually keep games close, as eight of their 14 games have been classified as “clutch” games — defined by the NBA as a contest that has a margin of five points or fewer inside the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. Miami has recorded a 3-5 record in those close games. That’s just not good enough if you want to finish with a winning record.

Adan: Why isn’t Kelly Olynyk starting? He has the potential to be a Chris Bosh or better?

Anthony Chiang: Because the Heat seem to have decided against playing Hassan Whiteside and Kelly Olynyk together. The two started the season opener. But it didn’t go so well, as the Heat were outscored by eight points in the 10 minutes Hassan and Kelly played together in Miami’s season-opening loss to the Magic. The pair of 7-footers has not been on the court at the same time ever since. In an NBA full of small-ball lineups, the Bulls are the only team in the league starting two 7-footers together on a consistent basis with a frontcourt of Robin Lopez and Lauri Markkanen. Something clearly didn’t work well with Hassan and Kelly playing together because Spoelstra hasn’t used that big lineup in a month.